Disable a browser's PDF Viewer

Owned by AlexandriaD (Unlicensed)
Last updated: Sept 20, 2021 by Mayra Gomez (Unlicensed)

Windows 10

By setting this setting it will work for any browser

Go to your windows 10 settings

Select Apps, then default apps

    →                    

Scroll down to Choose default app by file type

Scroll down to .pdf and select "Adobe" 

Chrome


Chrome PDF Viewer often times causes issues with data populating properly. Chrome also frequently changes the location of browser settings so I have included a gif below that now shows how to disable the Chrome PDF viewer.

Internet Explorer 8 and later

1. Open Internet Explorer, and choose Tools > Manage Add-ons.

2. Under Add-on Types, select Toolbars and Extensions.

3. In the Show menu, select All Add-ons.


4. In the list of add-ons, select Adobe PDF Reader.


Note: If you do not see the Adobe PDF Reader add-on, try the other options on the menu. For example, on some systems, the add-on appears when you select Run Without Permission.


5. Click the Enable or Disable button (it toggles depending on the status of the selected add-on):


Enable sets the Adobe PDF Reader add-on to open PDFs in the browser.


Disable turns off the add-on so it does not open PDFs in the browser.

Mozilla Firefox

  1. Choose Tools > Add-ons.

  2. In the Add-ons Manager window, click the Plugins tab, then select Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Reader.

  3. Choose an appropriate option in the drop-down list next to the name of the plug-in.

    Always Activate sets the plug-in to open PDFs in the browser.

    Ask to Activate prompts you to turn on the plug-in while opening PDFs in the browser.

    Never Activate turns off the plug-in so it does not open PDFs in the browser.



Google Chrome

  1. Type chrome://plugins into your web address bar. 
  2. Click "disable" under Chrome PDF Viewer. 


Apple Safari


To view PDFs with Safari, you can do one of the following:

  • Set Safari preferences to use Adobe Reader plug-in
  • Disable AdobePDFViewer plug-in to use the default Safari PDF viewer

Set Safari preferences to use Adobe Reader plug-in to view PDFs

  1. Launch Safari, and then choose Preferences.


  2. In the Preferences window, choose Security and then click the Website Settings button for  Internet plug-ins.

3. Now select Adobe Reader in the list of plug-ins.

Under the option When visiting other Websites, in the drop-down list, choose Allow Alwaysand then click Done.